"This is a wonderful day, not only for the City of Houston and the Texas Medical Center, but also for would-be victims of cancer across the country and even the world," Mansour said. CPRIT awarded funding for its first round of research grants and prevention programs earlier this year.

Research projects will focus on areas such as new cancer inhibitors, early detection efforts, stem cell studies, screening techniques, and all types of cancers including colorectal, breast, lung, pancreatic, colon, cervical, prostate, leukemia and lymphoma.

Created by a constitutional amendment passed by the Texas Legislature and approved by voters in 2007, CPRIT will invest $3 billion in cancer research over the next 10 years. "We expect to be back in Houston many more times in the next ten years," Mansour said.

Recipients Wednesday were M. D. Anderson; Baylor College of Medicine; Ingeneron Inc.; Methodist Hospital Research Institute; Rice University; The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; and Visualase Inc.

Former CPRIT board member, current agency ambassador and past Rice University President Malcolm Gillis, Ph.D., presented M. D. Anderson's $12.7 million "check" to Provost and Executive Vice President Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., who praised the speed and efficiency of the new state agency. "CPRIT assembled an executive team, pulled together research committees and then got funding out in record time," DuBois said.

Executive Director William "Bill" Gimson and Chief Scientific Officer Al Gillman, M.D., Ph.D., were appointed in March and April of 2009.

"Texas' bold and decisive action is unparalleled by any other state in the country," Mansour said, noting CPRIT is second only to the National Cancer Institute in the funding of cancer research. The agency has kept overhead costs to 3% of its budget, a number that will continue to drop, Mansour said. CPRIT also assembled a group of 105 scientists to review grant applications, all of whom are from out of state.